The Price of Education
By Jessica Lin
Many immigrants flock to the United States, the land of opportunities, where anyone, no matter their race, ethnicity, religion, or class, can achieve the highest levels of wealth and power. A land where all children have access to free public schools. However, is education really free?
While American society emphasizes the importance of higher education, inflation and ever-increasing costs prevent 48% of college-qualified high school graduates from accessing a college education (McKeon, 2004, p. 45). A study conducted by the General Accounting Office showed that since 1980, tuition fees at public institutions have risen by 234%, and those of private universities have risen by 220%. As a result, families reserve to take out larger portions of their income to compensate. For example, in 1979, the average tuition at a public college consumed approximately 36% of a family’s annual income, while a private university consumed 84%. The financial strain also forces most students to work jobs and take up loans, which turn to extensive debt that can raise several ethical issues. For instance, some stated that “repaying student debt has made it very difficult to save for a down payment.” The pool of student loan borrowers grew 69%, from 23 million to 39 million borrowers. The pressure to successfully graduate and obtain a high-paying job after such an investment also causes significant stress.
To avoid the financial burden, students resort to excel academically to receive scholarships that can cover the elevated prices. Unfortunately, the public education system lacks the quality resources to help students succeed. Resources are concentrated and difficult to access for those who need them most. Poor children are concentrated together with schoolmates whose focuses are survival needs, not academic success. The high student and teacher mobility rates in these schools also increase learning disruptions for all students (Raudenbush et al. 2011). In fact, neighborhood environment and poor working conditions—including inadequate support from school administration and limited faculty input in decision making—contribute to a 20% average annual departure rate (Simon and Johnson 2013; Ingersoll 2004). Additionally, schools with a majority of poor students and students of color are less likely to be offered Advanced Placement (AP) and gifted and talented courses than schools serving mostly white students.
Because of the lack of quality education, many students need to pay for enrichment classes and tutoring services, which gives each individual an unique learning experience, encourages self-paced and self-directed learning, and challenges them to their full potential. Although tutoring is effective, it comes with a high price tag. According to a study conducted by Gary F. Gut, vice chairman of the board of trustees at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, and Joel Monell, member of the board of trustees at BB&N, the typical tutored student spends $5,250 each year, and other factors, such as location, can affect that figure. The overall costs for tutoring throughout a person’s educational career average up to approximately $163,000, another staggering financial burden.
Recognizing the costs and benefits of tutoring, many have pushed Congress to approve new funding for interventions, tutoring, or other pupil services. Despite public pressure, Congress has not approved funding beyond the CARES Act, federal laws that “provide emergency financial aid grants to eligible students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the pandemic.” Congress provided $22.7 billion for institutions of higher education on January 5, 2021. On January 14, 2021, Congress invested an additional $21.2 billion to ensure students can continue to learn during the COVID-19 pandemic.
To address the cost and quality of education, Congress proposed more funding and creative proposals must be provided and studied. Fortunately, many states have taken direct action towards achieving affordable quality education. The state of Maryland allocated $100 million toward tutoring services. The No Child Left Behind Act also delivered over $2 billion annually for private after-school tutoring services, and the Los Angeles United School District paid teachers to serve as outside-of-school tutors providing individualized support to students. These progressions should serve as examples for continued improvements in education accessibility. Although private tutoring services in the US are a $47 billion industry, access to tutoring remains unequal because of financial constraints. While educational equity is made more possible by allocated funding for enrichment classes, many educators' creative proposal alternatives addressed the financial concerns that arise with state or nationwide funding. As proposed by Matthew Kraft, an assistant professor of education at Brown University, and Grace T. Falken, a research program associate at Brown, to create equal access to all, a tiered structure of peer tutors, whose voluntarily service can be compensated with elective course credit or wages, can be effective: high school students tutor elementary school students, college students tutor middle school students, and recent college graduates tutor high school students.
Additionally, various non-profit volunteer organizations offer free tutoring opportunities. PupilPrep, an organization helping elementary and middle school students with financial and language barriers get the extra help they need, has already crowdsourced more than 400 volunteers to mentor over 900 mentees in just a year. Students attend lessons according to their schedule, receive private lessons tailored to their needs, and participate in fun weekly challenges. While volunteer organizations such as PupilPrep are less popular compared to paid enrichment centers, they are growing tremendously in today’s technological environment. All students should have access to educational material, a proper and encouraging learning environment, and a diverse set of classes.
The following is an anonymous testimony from a student at PupilPrep:
“The mentor was great and quickly made a workable connection with my child. She was also very adaptable in terms of schedule and the subjects my child needed to cover.”
“Yes, it helped my son be more open-minded with different teaching strategies.”
Education is a right granted to all in America. However, the lack of quality education and the need for extra enrichment classes coupled with the lack of resources in segregated schools and the rising costs of education make it difficult to claim such a right. Education is a gift we all deserve, without the financial burden.
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